Writing for a hobby is a lot more common than I had first thought when I had first discovered I liked to write. Almost everyone I knew writes or tried to write at one point in their life, or maybe even wants to write, but most everyone just can’t get their words out on paper.
There are a few reasons that people have given me that aren’t really reasons at all, but excuses not to challenge yourself.
A lot of people are scared of the big picture. Publishing. Hell, I’ve been writing since I was 13 and I still have doubt about that. But in the beginning, which may be where you are, I put the idea of publishing to the side. That comes later. Right now you need to focus on getting your words our of your head.
Now that you know publishing is the least thing you need to worry about there are a few other things that people have told me that scare them off. Editing.
What new beginner writers may not know is that there is a big difference between writing, revising and edited. Writing is getting the words on paper; revising is going back to the beginning of your finished manuscript and doing some major changes, such as cutting or adding scenes. Throwing a character or two away. Revising is the big work. After the revising is finished the editing comes next. Editing is the small things like grammar: spelling and punctuation. So, until your first draft is written, editing should again be set aside. Don’t let your bad spelling hold you back.
Let’s focus on your first draft. Your very frist chapter, page, and word.
If you feel like you mind is just a jumbled mess and you don’t even know what words are when you have a blank page in front of you, there are a few things that may help you get past that stage. Try to keep a journal that you write in once a day. A journal can be any type of notes and they don’t even have to be very long. If you’re a total mess, you might could try writing something that you read that day. Or maybe you can write what you did that day, it doesn’t have to be personal.
As soon as you get the hang of that, you’ll probably want to start to create your own writing that’s straight from your head. This is the perfect time to write about what you’re passionate about. Sort of like an argumentive essay, but it’ll be better because you get to choose the topic, you get to have it as long or as short as you want, you get to write whatever your thoughts are on that subject and there is no deadline.
For example, you’re passionate about animals. What animals? Why? What benefits do they have to you? How do you feel when you’re around them?
If you’re passionate about cooking, write about that. The things that you like to cook, the things you don’t like to cook and why.
This leads to writing with feeling. The thing that draws a reader in is depending upon how much senses you put into it. Don’t just do sight and hearing. Write with all five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. It helps the reader feel like they are actually there in the story with your characters.
Most importantly, don’t criticize yourself. Yes, it is important to improve, but not so much that you get discouraged. Writing is like playing music, or cooking, or learning to crotchet or chop wood. Everyone will suck in the beginning.
Idea Overload 